Treasury - Daily Forex for day 15.11.2004

...government might tolerate a weaker dollar. A stronger-than-expected University of Michigan consumer sentiment report provided only short-lived boost to the dollar. The preliminary sentiment index rose to 95.5 in November from 91.7 in October. Earlier, the U.S. Commerce Department reported October retail sales increased 0.2%, in line with forecasts, after an upwardly revised 1.6% rise in September. Pulling the dollar further down, the minutes of the Federal Reserve's policy meeting on Sept. 21 voiced concerns about the huge U.S. trade gap. This week, the market will be looking at September's U.S. net capital flows data to see whether capital inflows into the U.S. are able to finance the deficit on the currenct account.

The Czech crown slid to two-week lows versus the euro on Friday, but still remained trapped within the narrow band close to the 31.50 mark. A report showing higher-than expected 1.1% monthly increase in producer prices in October had little impact on the currency market. Analysts had forecast a 0.9% monthly rise in PPI.